Updated May 21, 2026 03:52PM
Hundreds of climbers were descending the flanks of Mount Everest on Thursday, May 21, after a historic number reached the summit earlier in the week.
Taking advantage of calm and clear conditions on the peak’s upper slopes, more than 500 climbers reached the top between Monday, May 19, and Thursday, May 21. The summit bonanza peaked on Wednesday, May 20, when 274 summited, according to Nepal’s Department of Tourism.
“From 3 A.M. to 2 P.M. the summit climb went on for 11 hours. It is historic from the Nepal side,” Khimlal Gautam, chief of Nepal’s Department of Tourism’s Everest field office, told the website Everest Chronicle.
The crowd size on May 20 represented a milestone in Everest history. It was the largest number of climbers coming from the Nepal side to reach the summit on the same day. In 2019, 354 climbers summited Everest on May 23, however the climbers ascended the peak from both the Nepal and Tibet sides.
On Thursday, May 21, an additional 150 reached the top.
Outside reporter Ben Ayers, who is stationed at Mount Everest Base Camp this spring, followed the summits and descents via the official radio channels used by Everest guides. Ayers said that there were no reported deaths or major injuries amid the summit push between May 20 and 21.
“We’ve seen some cases of frostbite but no major injuries reported,” Ayers said.
Three people have died on Mount Everest so far during the 2026 season—all three were Nepali mountain workers who were there to guide clients or to help build camps and infrastructure on the mountain. Lakpa Dende Sherpa, 52, died on May 3 while trekking to Base Camp. Bijaya Bishwakarma, 35, died on May 10 while climbing through the Khumbu Icefall. Phura Gyaljen Sherpa, 20, died on May 11 after slipping and falling on the Lhotse Face.
With clear skies forecasted for the rest of the week, experts expect more big crowds to reach the top on Friday, May 22, and Saturday, May 23. This year Nepal issued a record 494 permits to climb Everest. Permitted climbers usually ascend with a guide and helpers, placing the total number of people on the mountain at approximately double.
Summit Success Despite a Historic Delay
The massive waves of climbers reaching the summit represented a huge success story for the Everest guiding industry, which faced uncertainty on the peak earlier in the spring climbing season. Traditionally, climbers flock to Everest in late April and begin climbing the peak in early May. But in 2026, dangers in the Khumbu Glacier at the foot of Everest prevented mountain workers from completing the route up the peak.
Route builders encountered massive towers of ice near the top of the Khumbu Icefall, the 2,000-foot wall of ice that marks the first leg of the Everest climb. Believing the towers of ice would fall on their own, the workers waited for more than two weeks, causing a delay in the climbing schedule. As the days went by without completion of the route, guides and climbers in Base Camp became anxious that the setback could spell disaster for the season.
“We’re starting to get worried,” Daniel Mazur, an American guide with the outfitter Summit Climb, told Outside on April 21. “We came here to climb Everest, and we can’t get on the mountain yet, and that is concerning.”
Workers eventually opened the route through the Khumbu Icefall on April 28, approximately two weeks later than in 2025. The first climbers reached the top of Mount Everest on May 13, and among the first to summit were the mountain workers who affix the safety ropes on the higher slopes. They reached the top just a few days later than they had in 2025, and the successful climb opened the route for expedition operators.
“We now have almost three weeks to support the record-breaking number of climbers on Mount Everest this year,” said Chhang Dawa Sherpa, director of the guiding company Seven Summit Treks, on May 13. “I want to thank everyone who supported these remarkable efforts this year, and I look forward to more teamwork in the future. Good luck to everyone, climb safe and safe descent!”
Historic Climbs and Noteworthy Summiters
Among the climbers to reach the summit in recent days are a collection of history-chasing veterans and groundbreaking newcomers.
Nepali climbers Kami Rita Sherpa, 56, and Lakba Sherpa, 55, both reached the top on May 17, breaking their own records for the most successful climbs. Kami Rita Sherpa reached the top for the 32nd time while guiding for Nepali outfitter Seven Summits Treks.
“I don’t climb Everest for myself or for my name,” Kami Rita Sherpa told Outside. “I continue to climb for my Sherpa community, for my Nepali community, and for my country.
Lakpa Sherpa, known within the Everest community as “Mountain Queen,” completed her 11th ascent of Everest.
Also on May 17, Polish ski mountaineer Bartez Ziemski, 37, ascended the peak and then skied all the way back down to Everest Base Camp without using supplemental oxygen. He is just the second person to ever complete that feat, behind his countryman Andrzej Bargiel, who first did it in September 2025.
Unlike Bargiel, Ziemski skied Everest just days after ascending and skiing nearby 27,940-foot Mount Lhotse, also without supplemental oxygen.
On Thursday, May 21, River Ahmad became the first woman from Afghanistan to climb Mount Everest. Ahmad, 30, spoke to Outside at the onset of the climbing season about her journey from Ghanzi, in eastern Afghanistan, to Base Camp. When she was 16 she survived a deadly massacre of civilians by Taliban fighters, and later fled the country as the terrorist group began to take over. After relocating to Australia, Ahmad reignited her love for climbing—a sport she pursued as a kid in Afghanistan—and set her sights on Everest.
“If I climb Mount Everest, I will show women in Afghanistan, you can do whatever in life you want,” she said.
Also reaching the top on May 21 was Russian climber Rustam Nabiev, who climbed the peak despite being a double-leg amputee. Nabiev does not climb with prosthetics, and instead propels himself forward with his hands and ice axes. He is the first double-amputee to climb Everest without the use of prosthetics.
“I dedicate this ascent to everyone who is watching me right now,” Nabiev wrote on Instagram. “With this act, I simply want to say one thing: as long as there is life burning within you—fight! Fight to the very end, please! It is worth it!”
Video circulated online earlier in the week of him navigating ladder bridges in the Khumbu Icefall with his hands.
According to Everest Chronicle, Nabiev lost his legs during a military accident in 2015. In 2021, he ascended 26,781-foot Manaslu in Nepal.
A Quick End to the Season
Many climbers who summited between May 17 and May 21 were working with the larger Nepali guiding companies, such as 8K Expeditions and Seven Summits Treks. Now, Western outfitters are looking to target the days of calm weather forecasted between May 22 and May 25.
Madison Mountaineering, the outfitter run by American Garrett Madison, posted on May 21 that its clients had ascended to Camp III at 23,300 feet, eyeing a summit push later in the week.
“So, a lot of people have been summiting the last few days and making their way down,” Madison wrote online. “So hopefully it won’t be too crowded for us, and we’ll have some good weather and good conditions up there.”
Furtenbach Adventures, a guiding company from Austria run by longtime mountaineer Lukas Furtenbach, wrote on Instagram on May 21 that its team had reached Camp IV at 26,000 feet, eyeing a summit push on May 22.
The wave of summit climbs comes as the Mount Everest season is winding down. Nepal’s climbing license allows climbers to scale the peak until the final May 31, the cutoff date for the climbing season.
